


A little hard to explain...

by Badwolfiscoming



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fiction, Jannie, Realtionship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-20 11:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3649044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badwolfiscoming/pseuds/Badwolfiscoming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A genie, that's Jeff's only explanation when he wakes up in his mid twenties. but what happens when you lose 13 years of your life? Was he ever a lawyer? what brought him to Greendale? and how do you explain to your friends who still remember you as the 40 year old?<br/>Most importantly though will Jeff find some new found courage to make a move on Annie?<br/>(i ship Jannie so much in the show i don't find any problem with the age difference it's just this idea came to me)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The discovery of a lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't thought about the amount of chapters that will be in this yet but they will be up weekly or sometimes before but never after so just stay tuned!  
> Also sorry barely any mention of Annie in this chapter at all but don't worry she will have her time to shine soon enough!  
> This story will change POV a lot, in this chapter it will be third person.

“Anything you want, Jeffrey.” A voice said, Jesus why did the group always ends up in messes like these? It had started with a hike and had ended up in a gold mine where a genie wanted to know his wish. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not but he had to be, maybe it was the berry Britta slipped him on the walk up which he stupidly took or maybe he hit his head on his fall down the mountain either way he didn't know whether or not he even wanted it to be real.  
“C’mon, Jeff, I’m getting impatient you have five seconds, 5,” oh god what just happened.  
“4,” he needed to make a wish.  
“3” but what did he want?  
“2” world peace?  
“O” the genie was cut off by Jeff’s yell.  
“I want to be young again!” He exclaimed.  
“Okay, I will give you your youth back however I must warn you to use this new gift carefully, not everyone gets a second chance.” The genie said cautiously.  
Jeff sprung up from the bed he was sleeping in, sweat dripped on his forehead and a feeling of drowsiness kept him from staying awake too much longer.  
“It was… just a dream…” He muttered before falling back into a deep sleep.  
The next morning Jeff awoke to the familiar sound of his alarm, he stretched out to turn it off before stepping out of his bed being careful not to step on his blackberry charging on the ground.  
As every morning he went he sauntered into is bathroom without being fully awake, his mind still in the dream he had had in his second sleep about the group trying to defeat Godzilla, it was one of the weirder nights dreams he had had.  
The first things he did was turn the taps of the shower before pulling off his pajama bottoms and top.  
“Fuck,” he swore realizing that he had forgot to turn the heating on and braced himself for the cold shower he was about to pursue.  
It was only when he was washing himself did he notice a slight change, had he lost weight? He was definitely a lot buffer last night and promised himself he was going to have to do double next arm day.  
Without putting much thought into his appearance in the mirror he walked passed it and into his room where he found the clothes he had set out the night before, he had decided on a more casual Jeff Winger look, a hoodie with t-shirt and jeans. He needed to look cool, calm and collected as though he hadn’t used the thought of Annie too open the lab and as though he hadn't stopped thinking about it the whole summer break, he was also going to have to explain to her why he was avoiding her calls outside of the save Greendale society.  
Throwing off the towel that covered his waist area he put on his clothes and checked the clock that sat on his bed-side table. It read 8:05, Greendale classes started at 9am and it took him a 20 minute drive, he smiled he had 35 minutes to fix his hair and complete the causal Jeff Winger look the way he always did; unnatural bed head.  
Making his way back to the bathroom for the second time that morning and pulling out his gel from the cupboard was the first time he had properly seen himself that morning and the site made him scream, in fact he screamed so loud that a hurried knock on the door told him the Dean was too worried for his health.  
Now, the Dean was not who Jeff particularly wanted to see at this moment or any moment to be exact but he needed a second opinion, he needed to know he hadn't just gone mad.  
“Jeffrey! Are you okay? Jeffrey are you being murdered? Jeffrey! Open the door please Jeffrey!” was being called from the other side of the door before he swung it open.  
“Dean! I need you to look at me!” Jeff exclaimed before thinking about his words.  
“Jeffrey! I never stop looking,” He said it too calmly for him to be in anyway comfortable about it.  
“No dean look closer,” This caused the Dean to faint there and then and Jeff cursed under his breath before turning back to the bathroom and pawing at his face… he was younger, a lot younger actually mid to late 20s younger and he didn't understand it one tiny bit.  
He heard the Dean begin to run across the living room to him and he quickly closed the bathroom door before he could get in, the dean was not welcome alone in the bathroom with him.  
His hair was the same, but he just looked younger, his stubble was still in the place it had been last night but his body was more toned than muscly, he just looked younger, it was hard to describe.  
By the time he left the bathroom after his initial shock the Dean had left, he did have to be in Greendale earlier than the students and teachers however Jeff was sure he wouldn't mind being late if it meant walking in with him, heshuddered at the stories he could tell people, stories they might believe are actually true.  
With no time to do his hair he scrubbed a toothbrush around his mouth and rushed out the door however not without his trust blackberry, luckily the traffic wasn't heavy so he got to Greendale pretty quickly, oh God what was he going to tell the group, there was only one person he could call about this, Britta.  
Once in the Greendale car park he dialed Britta’s number and hoped she picked up he was about to hang up when he heard her voice on the receiving end  
“Hello?” She said.  
“Britta, hey, I need your help, badly.” He pleaded.  
“Oh god, Jeff what have you done or who have you done? Jeff! Did you get a girl pregnant?” She exclaimed jumping to conclusions too fast.  
“Jeff got who pregnant?” He could hear a worried voice say in the background, he knew it was Annie’s from the first word.  
“No one! I got no one pregnant but please don’t bring Annie I need you to come to me in the car park, I will explain everything the best I can then,”  
Britta turned to Annie and shrugged, “No one’s pregnant thank God, cannot be having any little Wingers running around the place, one is enough!” she said despite her only half joking Annie seemed caught off guard from the comment. “He wants me to meet him, I will half to meet up with you later again Annie I will tell you everything I swear but right now he sounds like he really needs me,”  
Britta half ran half walked to the car park where she saw Jeff, except it wasn't Jeff it was Jeff junior? Either that or she needed to know where he bought his moisturizer.  
“Jeff?” she asked confused by the situation.  
“Britta thank God you’re here last night I had a dream about a Genie ad a wish and now… I’m younger? I don’t understand it.” He tried to explain but he could tell she was confused, it was going to be a long time before he got used to this.


	2. Unexpected Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter we get a take on what the group will think of the 'new' Jeff! It will be in his POV this time but will also have a good bit of drama in it so sorry about that if you aren't into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time next week or before the new chapter will be uploaded. I don't have long until school ends for summer so i can set up a more consistent schedule then but until then just keep checking up!

It took me a long time for Britta to convince me to come inside and see the study group, I wasn’t sure what they would think, I couldn’t tell what Britta thought. I couldn’t explain anything to them but I knew they would want answers that I didn’t have.  
As I walked in the school and made my way to the study room I started to imagine all their reactions…  
Shirley would tell me it was a miracle sent from God to let me live a better second life.  
Abed would try and turn it into an episode of inspector space time.  
Troy would complain it hurt his brain.  
Once I told Britta my only explanation about the genie she would get mad I didn’t choose world peace or something.  
…and Annie… I had no idea what she would think, I couldn’t tell if she would be pleased or upset. I mean it was hard to tell her feelings for me, on one hand she told me she felt chemistry and kissed me at the Tranny dance but on the other hand she told her friends I was her uncle. Which left me with a few questions: would she be glad I was younger and want to start something a lot easier than we would have ever been able to before or be sad she lost her fucking father figure or uncle figure or whatever.  
Before I could properly ready myself I was at the door to the study room, my heart was in my throat but as I walked that first step through the doors I saw something that didn’t make me feel so scared anymore, everyone was laughing and having fun just like always, granted Annie looked a little bit distracted but I could put that down to the fact that she was wondering what happened earlier.  
Everyone went silent when I came, I could see their greetings start before stopping.  
“Woah…” Escaped Annie’s lips but other than that everyone was quiet.  
Suddenly Britta collapsed into her seat and said to me, “Go on then, care to explain?”  
A hot sweat burst over me, I hadn’t really expected Britta of all people to ask and I hadn’t come up with an answer to give her, or anyone for that matter. I began to pace back and forth and while Shirley’s eyes told me I was getting on her nerves from moving so much I couldn’t keep still I couldn’t keep calm.  
“I don’t know,” I paced left, “I genuinely have no clue,” Right, “I woke up like this,” Left, “I don’t know what to do,” I stopped in the middle of turning right and put my hands threw my hair.  
“Jeff…” Annie said softly, “Sit down… let’s talk about this,”  
Something about her voice went through me, it calmed me down, it comforted me so when I sat down and smiled at her I couldn’t help smiling when I saw blush, however I did avert my gaze so she didn’t see my grin, bit embarrassing.  
“Jeffrey,” Shirley said as though accusing me, “Shame on you, why are sitting here trying to figure it out? The good Lord gave you a gift to use not contemplate,”  
I looked up at her, she was completely right, I was young again I could do whatever I wanted, “You’re right Shirley, I can do whatever I want, I can go partying again without having feel self-conscience, I could learn more instruments, I could…” and then like a bright shiny light of inspiration I figured it out, “I could become a lawyer again!”  
I sprang up quickly, excited to go quit my job and Greendale and start classes again, it wouldn’t take me all that long to get my bachelors surely but Abed’s voice from behind me stopped me from going further than just outside the study room.  
“Jeff, wait,” I turned to face him, “How do we know you were a lawyer before now? I mean it's pretty obvious your past won't be the same and the only reason we remember it is because we are the people you are closest to,”   
“Obviously,” I said bluntly.  
“I think we need to a bit of background history before you go off and do whatever,” Abed decided.  
As I sat back down at the table I got a hit with shame, I realised that I had forgotten how much of an asshole lawyer Jeff was, why would I ever want to become him again? So I decided to tell the group that in case they got worried.  
“Sorry about that guys, I swear I'm not going to turn into the old me again,” they all nodded but Annie looked unsure.  
Abed brought out of his laptop from under that computer and logged onto Facebook, where he brought up my page.  
“Uh huh, see it says here that you were one of world’s youngest lawyers, you've been on a few habitat for humanity trips and… You and Britta went out together for three years but broke up 2 years ago, oh that makes sense you stopped going to habitat for humanity after you two broke up,”   
I was so confused, it wasn't that that possibility of a relationship with Britta was so out of the question a few years back but for 3 years? That's a long time!   
“Oh god I don't remember any of this shit,” I complained before getting a pointed look from Shirley I can assume from swearing.  
I brought out my phone and we onto Facebook for myself, the tension in the room was pretty intense, it seemed that britta wanted me to fix it and tell everyone we never went out and Annie looked almost desperate to hear it. I didn't have time for this now though I had to sort everything out and do the best I could to retrace my steps of the years.  
Abed began to talk again it was a quick abrupt phrase that he rhymed off, “Jeff kiss Britta or Britta kiss Jeff I’m sure it will have the same affect,”   
I looked at him horrified I mean sure I was going to end up marrying her last year, or was I? Could I count anything I’ve ever done as me? But I wasn't really comfortable with kissing her, especially with Annie right there.   
“What? No!” Britta and I said in unison.  
“it could jog your memory, Jeff,” Abed looked between us, “3 years is a long time to just forget something,”   
“He's right…” I heard a quiet voice say behind me, it was Annie’s the sound of how defeated she spoke made my heart clench.   
I turned to her, “he is?” I sounded surprised, I was surprised.  
“Duh!” She was starting to sound like Annie again it made me happy but at the same time I wasn't sure I wanted her to be happy about this subject, “it'll bring back your memories, she was a huge part of your life,” she stood up and began to stride to the door, “i mean love does conquer all right?” With that she left and I had no idea whether or not to follow her.  
I looked to Britta whose mouth was pressed into a line, “I mean I’m not saying we are going to fall madly in love … But maybe we should, just to get some memories back though,” she had reason so maybe it wasn't so bad but I knew it could quite possibly be one of the most awkward kisses of all time.   
I went closer to her chair and leaned down slightly, her eyes were locked on to mine and I knew she wasn't going to enjoy this anymore than me. As I leaned in I brushed a strand of hair from her face but it was her that pressed her lips to mine, it was hard, neither of us wanted to other to have access and we weren't doing a great job of kissing each other back eventually after an awkward 10 seconds I slipped my tongue in, it reminded me too much of anthropology.  
Surely enough I did get memories back, or both of us did from the look on Britta’s face. I saw everything, three years is a very long time as I had been reminded. I saw kissing, fucking, cuddling, staying in watching movies, going out and getting pissed, fighting, making up, telling each other we loved each other, and telling each other we didn’t anymore.  
It was a bit heart breaking to watch the whole way through but at the same time I didn’t feel anything like that for her she didn’t wither from the way she was looking at me which was very good as everything could have gotten very awkward if only one of us felt things.  
Things only went from bad to worse though whenever we were forced to sit in the same room, the rest of the group were staring at us as if expecting us to bang on the table or start so huge fight but I didn’t feel a need it wasn’t us who was in that relationship, technically anyway.   
Everyone decided to leave us alone which I was glad about, I needed to tell her how I felt about everything or more specifically about how I didn’t feel about everything.  
“Listen, Jeff.” She started before I could, damn it, “I really don’t want us to be a thing but I totally get it if you do I mean I saw what you saw and we did some pretty impressive things but I have just got to put it out there that I’m really not all that into you,”  
“I’m heart broken,” I said sarcastically, “you’re completely right we did do some impressive stuff but at the same time those habitat for humanity t shirts we get don’t go with my eyes so I think we are going to have to call it quits and never visit the subject again,”  
Britta laughed which was nice to hear, “Oh don’t worry winger I will definitely be bringing this one back up but only the embarrassing stuff,” and with the she stood up touched my shoulder and left the room.  
“Glad we had this talk,” I said to nobody.  
The day went by as normally as it could go, my students weren’t really paying enough attention to notice a change which I was both pleased and discouraged about. It was only when I sat in my office grading papers did the night become interesting.   
I was disturbed from my grading by a sound at the door, as I looked up my chest clenched, it was Annie. I hoped she would stop by, I was tempted to text her and ask her to but it felt mean, despite the fact we weren’t together I felt awful about kissing Britta in front of her.  
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked doing my best to be chilled.  
“I think we have some things to talk about,” She said making me feel as though I had been punched in the gut.  
“Um, yeah okay sure,” I reached behind and pulled on the second spinny chair to bring it over, “take a seat,”  
“You’re young.” She stated, “or well younger at least, you really have no idea?” she seemed scared.  
“I had a dream last night, it was about the camping trip, Britta slipped me a berry and I fell down a ditch into some kind of mine I think was a gold one, anyway there was a genie and he granted me a wish and then I woke up like this,”   
“I’m assuming you wished to be young?” she said just trying to confirm everything.  
“Yeah,” it came out quietly.   
Annie looked down and smiled it seemed forced though, “don’t tell Britta that, she’ll never let you forget you chose vanity over world peace, might even ruin your relationship,”  
“Our relationship?” I inquired why would she care everyone knew Britta and I’s friendship could be rocky.  
“Yeah, you guys kissed and then everything you had you remembered, I asked Shirley where you were when they all left the study room when she told me they were leaving you and her alone I put 2 and 2 together.” I could see emotions coming through her features.  
“No, no, no, nooooooooooo. No. me and Britta? No. we were talking about everything but that was it in fact we decided we should just forget about it, it wasn’t really us,” I said almost desperately.  
“Except it was, because if you were younger when you came here that would have been you two,” She was getting worked up.  
“Annie, me and Britta are never going to happen,” I needed to make her see that.  
“Well then why were you going to marry her?!” she snapped.  
A sudden uncomfortable silence fell over her, I wanted to kiss her, hug her, and show her that what Britta and I were going to have was not what I really wanted.  
“Annie, I was so scared, we both were. You realise that marriage would have lasted until we got home, at the most until we had to decide who cooks and who cleans.” Annie wouldn’t meet my eyes.  
“Why her though?” I feel my chest clench once again, “I mean without pretending you would actually be interested, why not me? Why not have a spur of the moment marriage with me?” She stood up, “No, you know what, Jeff? Never mind I think I know the answer,” She went to storm off.  
I hated the fact she was in such a state, I needed to tell her how I felt before it was too late. I loved her. “What makes you think I wouldn’t have been interested?” I asked hoping it would be enough to bring her back in the room at least.  
Annie turned and for the first time in the past 15 minutes looked me in the eye, “Because guys like you never are, not in the long term anyway,”  
Now it’s that, that makes me mad! She couldn’t just decide that I come under some kind of category of men, no fuck that not when I love her as much as I do.   
I stood up “Oh I see how it is! So when you decide you’re going to run off with Vaughn how is that different? you changed your mind too.... at least when it came to Britta and me we were going to be able to see the group.” It was my own office I know but I needed to get out of there so I stormed out leaving her. I felt bad I turned it around on her but I couldn’t help it.  
Once I got home to my apartment I opened the scotch I had sitting and drank it straight from the bottle, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket to see Annie calling. I wasn’t mad at her but I couldn’t deal with any more drama right now either.  
Without getting changed I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me, tomorrow was a new day and I hoped I would wake up still young.


	3. Annmotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be Annie's POV. next chapter will be uploaded in a few days!

I dreaded school that morning, I rarely dreaded Greendale’s friendly arms because Jeff was always there to get me through the day but he didn’t answer my calls last night, eventually he just turned off his phone. It made me feel weak and useless, I didn’t want to have hurt him the same way I hope he hadn’t have wanted to hurt me but still somehow I had done it and the thought of having to sit through the day with him made me want to vomit form nerves.  
I applied my makeup and thought back on to yesterday, the way he walked in as though the world was ending because he was younger. I assumed he would come round to the idea pretty quickly once he figured out what had made him that way so I tried to comfort him, I hated seeing him hurt of or in a state.  
Then when it turned out his past wasn’t the same it messed everything up, he had dated Britta for three years! That was a long time but still somehow I could accept it, everyone has a past. Oh God, when he kissed her, I felt so angry and so sick to the stomach I had to leave I didn’t mean to be such a bitch about it though.   
My thoughts began to spin as I stared at my face in the mirror, I had decided to dress up a little but not noticeably just a change from the shirts. I decided to wear something more casual, a simple tank top and jeans with a hoodie.   
As I get into my car to drive to Greendale I have to pull very, I was only 5 minutes away and I knew I would have to face Jeff, how would he act? Would he act like nothing happened? No of course h wouldn’t he would try to talk to me alone and then give me some charming speech about how we would work but he doesn’t have time right now or maybe he would just tell me to forget about it like he did once before.  
I allowed my head to fall back onto the rest of breathe out, I thought back to a moment of the past 5 years. I fell in love with him quicker that I thought I would have it was when I decided Greendale was where I belonged, that kiss followed by the suppression by Jeff hurt me beyond belief but I kept faith somehow. Last night though he tried to use that against me that, that fucker tried to use the moment I fell in love with him against me, what I hated most about it was that it was true. What was the difference? We both made bad decisions. It was too late now though I should have at least tried to forgive him last night.  
Before I could reach the study room the Dean ran to me, “Annie! I need your help!”   
“Okay, what’s wrong Dean?” I asked as we made our way to his office.  
“Jeff’s file! I lost it… along with several others but those aren’t important! What’s important is that Jeff might have to have to become a student again if we don’t find them!” Shit. The dean was such an idiot sometimes.  
As I stepped inside the office I conjured up a game plan, “Okay first things first we look through all the cabinets, followed by drawers and memory sticks, lastly we will look through all the old computers… wait a minutes what are those?” I point to a stack of papers underneath the leg of the desk.  
“Oh those? They are just some files I grabbed from the cabinet to level my desk,” The dean said happily.  
“Could those possibly be the missing files?” The Dean shook his head at my response.  
“No, no, no. I would not be so careless with poor Jeffrey’s files,” He bent down and retrieved them from under the desk before looking through them, “Actually Annie, you know what? These are the files thanks for your help run off to class now,”   
As I was ushered out of the Dean’s office I rolled my eyes however a sudden hit of dread went through me as I realised just how close to the study room I was. All too close in fact, I never realised just how close the Dean’s office was to the room.  
As I stepped into the study room I saw everyone having fun, Jeff and Britta were chatting away as though yesterday meant nothing to them and Abed and Troy were arguing with Shirley over which Star Wars is the best. I didn’t want to disturb the peace as I stepped in so I didn’t announce myself instead I walked in and sat down making sure to keep my head down however it wasn’t long before I was included in the Star Wars conversation however Britta and Jeff were still in their own world, was he doing that just to spite me? It was so un-Jeff like.  
It wasn’t long before everyone had to go to classes and as we stood up Jeff and Britta walked on by themselves it made me want to cry and scream at the same time to an extent where if Shirley hadn’t placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder I might have ended up causing a scene.  
I was confused, I knew that she of all people wouldn’t support Jeff and me but maybe since the whole age thing happened she was more willing to accept my feelings for the man.  
As classes went by that day, my stomach became more and more nauseated. I stopped by Jeff’s office a few times during the day so we could have a civil conversation, I needed to know if he hard really admitted feelings for me or was just saying it for the sake of an argument. I needed to let him know that he meant more to me that how it seemed. But every time I went by his room it was empty, and Britta was no where to be seen. What were they doing? I hoped the answer wasn’t each other.  
It was only when I got a text from Jeff that I perked up, it read:  
Meet in the study room, we’re going file hunting.  
While i hoped the text was for me alone I had a rather large suspicion that it was a group text.


	4. The wait...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie's thoughts about the situation at hand...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the crappy chapter uploaded last night but i felt something was needed,i felt bad though so have this one which i worked really hard on!

Here’s the thing, Jeff was younger, which was nice. Really nice actually because it should mean I could get in there and not have to worry about other people thought about me, right? Wrong!  
1\. I never gave a fuck about what people thought of me especially on the subject of Jeff.  
2\. He was with BRITTA for three years ugh  
Maybe if his past had gone differently, maybe if he had decided to work hard and get his degree or even sleep around every night things would be different in the past 2 weeks he had been young but three years? That’s just such a long time especially for Jeff Winger!  
I thought about the past couple of weeks events over and over as I fell back on to my bed in exhaust. Britta and Jeff had started to hang out more, when I asked Britta why he said “as a psychology major I know these thing and its totally normal to hang out with someone you have a bond with” I wanted to kill her there and then but I managed to restrain myself.  
We had went into his old lawyer office, looked through his old case studies, and as Britta made puppy dog eyes at him because he was helping the puppy dogs I was shooting daggers because I was looking at the dark side of the story; strippers, fraud, anyone that offered him money!   
That night as I saw Britta asleep on my couch, I heard her phone beep in the kitchen, the gesture for me to turn it off to not wake her up started out innocent but when I saw it was Jeff at 1am I got nervous and opened the text, it read:  
Don’t be a bitch, I’m working on it.-J  
No x’s, not wink faces to show that he was only joking about calling her a bitch. I soon realised I had to look at more so I scrolled to the top of that nights text sess.  
Yo bozo, we need to talk right now –B  
Britta it’s 12:30 wtf do you want? –J  
What do I want? I want you talk to Annie and stop making me cover your ass at every opportunity. She’s my friend Jeff and I hate hurting her, you need to stop making her think somethings going on with us.-B  
I.am.doing.my.best. she’s not playing ball with me we just keep fighting, I want her to hear what I am trying to say. –J  
Try harder dickwad-B  
Don’t be a bitch, I’m working on it.-J  
There had been one thought on my mind there and then. “What the actual fuck?” So Jeff liked me then? And he and Britta were arguing about it… or more about how he wasn’t doing anything about it. Jeff and I had barely talked recently he didn’t just get a ticket out of this, I wanted him to tell me why he has been acting so strange, I needed to know, it was breaking my heart.  
As I came back to reality and lay on the bed I could have cried, Jeff of all people was helping me move the old boxes of my things from my parents’ house I never got the opportunity to before. I don’t know how it happened, actually that’s a lie I had asked the study group and everyone had said no as they went round the table, by the tie it got to Jeff my eyes had filled with tears. I just really needed someone to help me through it and without even looking me in the eye he said yes.  
Tomorrow morning at 9am, in 8 hours he would be at my door with his car outside and that stupid, amazingly attractive grin on his face and I would be forced to pretend like I wasn’t going to need his constant support through all of tomorrow.   
While I was very nervous about the aspect of being with Jeff the entire day, the thought to seeing my parents for the first time in year filled me with a dread that gave me shivers. I hoped it wouldn’t come through to either Jeff or my parents, I ran through the day.  
1\. Get picked up by Jeff and smile as though my hair wasn’t down and we hadn’t talked properly for a week.  
2\. Get in the car and make sure to play whatever CDs are available, silence is not the way to go!  
3\. Arrive at my parents’ house, say hello, get the boxes, go into the car and drive off.  
4\. Arrive back at the apartment bring the boxes back up and say goodbye to Jeff.  
That was it that was all that was going to happen tomorrow. There would be no lingering glances, no tantrums with the parents, nor arguing with anyone and most importantly overall no kissing. The kissing wouldn’t happen or at least if it did Jeff would pretend it hadn’t and I had accepted that in a way but at the same time I wanted it happen, needed it to happen. It had been years since I had felt his lips on mine, felt the way my heart sped up in a way it only seemed to when I kissed him.   
Sleep wasn’t something that was coming easily that night, I had been in my jammies for 3 hours tossing and turning in my bed, getting glasses of milk and even waking up Troy and Abed to watch Pulp Fiction. I had hoped after seeing the film for the 15th time while living with the duo it would have bored me to sleep instead I just stared beside the screen for two hours not taking in anything and occasionally forgetting to breathe.  
So at 2:30 I said fuck it an gave up on trying to sleep it was too late to take the pills in bedside table as I knew I would sleep through the alarm if I did that so instead I just stared at the ceiling and breathed deeply. I don’t know what time I went to sleep but I knew I couldn’t have gotten too much sleep as I felt ill when I woke up the next morning at 8. I hopped in the shower and got changed, jeans and a tank top with a shirt over it, nothing fancy but I just thought it made me look good, it was only when I looked in the mirror I remembered where I had gotten the shirt, it was Britta’s I couldn’t wear it! So instead I changed into a blue t-shirt it was simple but effective.  
I sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in my hand, it was the same one that had been used already three times that morning, I needed both the energy and something to do.  
I glanced nervously on the clock on the wall, it told me it was 9:05. Britta was till sleeping and Troy and Abed were playing with nerf guns around the house, if I didn’t feel like I wanted to cry right now I might have told them to chill but the noise was good it was keeping me preoccupied.  
Without even thinking I pour the rest of my coffee down the sink and decided to head back into my room however though as if on cue as soon as I leave the kitchen I hear a knock on the door. My heart stops, I mean literally stops, I mean I was cold all over and a sweat broke out on my forehead all at once, once I opened that door there was no going back from Jeff Winger but once I got into that car there was no going back from my parents.  
I waited a few seconds and breathed in and out before walking up to the door and opening it carefully, to my surprise as Jeff stood there he wasn’t on his phone or texting he was looking directly at me and quite frankly it was extremely disarming! He smiled at me but not with the grin I expected, not with the smirk that showed off just enough of his teeth to make me melt but with a small smile with soft eyes that made me want to wrap my arms around him. He of all people knew what it was like to have parent problems.  
“Annie, look I was thinking about today,” he didn’t even start with hello, he was going to cancel on me and not even say hello first unbelievable, “You are doing a really brave thing by facing them today and after it you are going to be exhausted, so don’t get mad but I booked that little Italian restaurant you like so much for lunch, to make you feel better,” He gave me a full smile now, he was gleaming, he knew he had done well and my reaction probably wasn’t what he was expecting because when I close the door mutter my goodbyes to the pair playing with guns and fell into a hug with Jeff he seemed so… off about it.  
As his arms settle around me I can tell he is struggling with the position he is in, he starts off with both arms on the top of my back before slowly letting one arm fall down to the small of my back and one into my hair. It felt so calm, so peaceful as though the past week of fighting had been nothing more than childish bickering. For the first time in a long time things felt normal.  
As we got into his Lexus it was hard to tell how I felt, I had been so calmed by Jeff merely minutes before only to have that destroyed by actually having to go to my parents that my body was a mix between vomit and serenity.   
Jeff seemed to notice too as he looked over at me and put him arm near me, I think he was considering putting it on my leg but I couldn’t be sure. “We don’t have to do this, just say the word and we won’t show,”  
“No, I I I… I need to do this, Jeff. This is going to be my defining moment, when I get to look them in the face and show them what I have become, it’s going to be awesome, terrifying but awesome!” I say happily hearing myself being confident made me feel more confident.  
Jeff chuckled before turning on the radio and flicked through the channels, “Ughhhgh,” He moaned, “Why is there only ads on the radio these days?”   
I laughed at his sulkiness, “DO you not have any CDs?”   
“That is actually a great Idea, they’re in the glove compartment,” Jeff smiled.  
As I reached into the miniature storage spot I felt a pile of CDs at the back, I looked through them all as I pulled them out… Green day, Blink 182, Coldplay, maroon 5, BNL (surprising) and … show tunes? Anything Goes was defiantly a show wasn’t it? I decided to quickly to not ask right now, neither of us were in an overly talky mood yet so I wanted to cut out on the personals in case it was an ex-girlfriends CD or something.  
I decided on Green Day and we sang along happily to “Stray Heart” and “Nightlife” before pulling up to my parents’ house. This time Jeff didn’t struggle to put his hand on my leg and as I turn to look at him in slightly shock his smile gives me all the encouragement I need to enter the house. Here it was, my big moment, I hoped I didn’t fuck it up too badly.


	5. Meet the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes even the worst days can turn into better nights...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys sorry for the dodgy uploads but i have exams right now so i don't really have a schedule for this right now!

I watched with an odd sense of pride as Annie stepped out of the car, I had faced my father a long time ago (or had I? I hadn’t quite figured out my new timeline but the hole in my heart told me he had still left) and it had been hard, devastatingly hard and I was so glad Britta was there as annoying as she was about the whole situation.  
As she walks up to the front door I walk a few steps behind her, I can see her legs shake and for a moment I fear she is going to fall but she’s Annie so of course she doesn’t. What she does do however is stop in the middle is and turn to looks at me, her face was filled with panic and I could see her eyes were ready to spill over, I hated seeing her upset. I gave her an encouraging smile and caught up with her, it only took one stride. I squeezed her arm as she made up way up the step and knocked the door, somehow her face turned a shade whiter and I was convinced she was going to vomit.  
When she knocked on the door I could hear her hold her breath, I felt bad at this point I could have never made it this far. Not in a long shot if I was doing what she was doing, the only reason I met my dad again was to prove I could to Britta. The door opened and two people in their late 50s to early 60s opened, the man looked older than the woman.  
“Annie?” the man said astonished before pulling her into a hug, she seemed startled and didn’t return the gesture, “what are you doing here?”  
“I-I-I just came to get some of my stuff… if you still have it.” She was talking quickly and quietly.  
“Of course we do!” He held out a hand that gestured us into the house, nobody would mention the elephant in the room however, Annie’s mother still hadn’t spoken.  
As Annie and her father went upstairs I stayed down and stared at her mum, she was pretty you could see where Annie got it from however a look of, hatred? No, maybe just anger was plastered on her face.  
We stood and stared, I could hear Annie being talked at by her dad loudly he was joking and she wasn’t making responses loud enough to hear, I should have gone up with her I just felt like I was intruding.  
“He gets nervous you know,” The words made me jump as Annie’s mum spoke for the first time, “He talks when he is nervous, he isn’t happy to see her, neither of us are.” I swear to god I could have killed her there and then, not want Annie was that a thing?  
However I managed to remain calm, somehow, I did what I always did and counted to 10 before answering, “I don’t think she particularly wants to be here either but you know what? You don’t even have the right to reject her.”  
The middle aged woman seemed to recoil at my words, “What makes you think you can tell me what’s right and wrong? Who even are you?”  
“Jeff Winger. I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to talk to Annie Edison every day because I get to be there for her when she’s sad and when she’s happy, because she’s my… friend,” I trailed off at the end.  
“Right well believe it or not, no matter how whipped she has you she is never going to be interested. That’s our Annie alright she will just string you along and then dump you, honestly its good we got out while we could,” she scoffed.  
“Good?” 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, “Good? She needed you. You are her parents, you were supposed to take care of her but you dumped her like she was some kind of chore.” I managed to not shout.  
I heard Annie come down the stairs, she carried a large box filled with things, she stood beside me and her father went back to his spot beside his wife.   
I lifted the box of her and she smiled gratefully, “Annie. Get out.” Her mother said sternly.  
“Mum?” Annie gulped.  
“Why’d you come back? Why did you have to be bring him as well? Want to show of how well you’re doing? String along this sod and make him think you might be interested? You could have rang, we would have sent the box over. But maybe if you weren’t such a selfish little...”  
“Annie.” I said sternly, grabbing her elbow from under the box, “Let’s just go,”  
As we walked past her father didn’t smile either they both just stared blank faced at their own daughter, it was disgusting it was horrible, Annie deserved better.  
With the box loaded and Annie seated beside me I drove away quickly I slowed once we were out of the area though. I suddenly became aware of the reservations and whether or not Annie would be in the mo- My train of thought was cut off by the sound of tears coming from beside me. My hearts tightened and I cringed unsure of what to do.  
I realised that my apartment was only a 10 minute drive from here, it occurred to me that we would not be going to the restaurant which was good in a way, I hated that place however given the circumstances I wished we could have been driving there now, with Annie cheery and giving the finger to her parents.  
As we pulled into the parking spaces outside I turned to her for the first time since the water works had started, “Annie,” I let out quietly, “They aren’t worth it,” I didn’t know what to say.  
She looked up at me, bleary eyed and red and in that moment I had the feeling actions would speak louder than words so I undid her seat belt and mine and pulled her into my lap. It wasn’t the comfiest arrangement quite frankly it couldn’t be a comfy arrangement unless she was straddling me but I had an idea that that wouldn’t go down too well right now so instead she rested between my legs and had her head buried in my chest.  
I stroked the small figure’s hair and whispered comforting things in her ear, it was the least I could do until finally she spoke up, “Jeff?”  
“Yeah?” I didn’t mean for the word to come out the way it did, it was filled with love and affection in ways I didn’t know the word yeah could, it even made her blush a little.  
“Can we go inside? I’m getting cramps.” She seemed nervous about asking which was ridiculous we had known each other for nearly 6 years.  
I looked out the window and as if by magic a heavy storm of rain began to pour down, now given my state of worry my first thought wasn’t to park near my building so it was a semi long walk over to it.  
As I opened the door Annie stretched slightly, her head soon bowed though and I got an idea.  
“Race ya!” I shouted it was childish and stupid but Annie was childish and very competitive so I figured it would have worked and it did, I could hear footsteps running rapidly behind me but I didn’t look back not until I got to the door and had to slam my hands into it to stop.  
I opened the door for her and looked, she was drenched, she hadn’t worn a jacket so her bra was showing through the t-shirt, I felt bad for her as almost as soon as she stopped running she began to shiver. “Milady,” I said cheerfully as I made a dramatic hand gesture for her to go through the door.  
“Milord,” she blushed and stared at the ground.  
As we entered my apartment the heat hit me first, I was glad I had accidently left it on. However though the wet clothes I had on me were stopping me from warming up as I entered the kitchen and opened the fridge to pull out milk.  
I turned round to face Annie to ask her if she wanted hot chocolate but when I turned round I saw her shivering and I soon realise hot chocolate wasn’t going to cut it.  
“One second,” I smiled and entered into my bedroom where I pulled out a new outfit for me complete with jeans and a new crisp shirt and realised I had no idea what would fit Annie. I was sure if I looked Britta would have left something but it felt a bit wrong to give that to her.  
I pulled out some sweat pants, a t-shirt and hoodie along with some socks, they would have to do. I quickly got changed into my new outfit bearing in my mind Annie was literally freezing to death in my living room.   
I left my room and handed the pile of clothes to her, “You can use my room to change if you want just thought you’d be freezing, also sorry the clothes don’t really fit,” I gave her a sheepish smile as she shyly took the clothes pile and made her way to the room.  
I finished of the hot chocolate and even topped it with squirty cream and marshmallows when I heard her open the door.  
There she was Annie Edison in my clothes, woah.  
I handed her the mug and she gratefully took it and I moved my head in the direction of the sofa so she knew she could sit down. I quickly went into my room and grabbed my blanket from my bed to put over us. I sat on one side of the sofa and lifted her feet that were tucked underneath her to put on my lap.   
As I lifted the remote and handed it to her she settled on the Notebook that was on TV at the time, I groaned and she gave me those fucking Disney eyes and before I knew it we were watched the Notebook, alone, in my apartment with her feet over me, with her in my clothes and drinking hot chocolate.  
At some point during the film she began to wiggle her toes a bit which soon became an annoyance for me, I grabbed at her feet to stop them moving but I must have touched a nerve because she lets out a little sigh of relief and then just like that I’m giving her a foot rub and she groaned until she stopped and I look over at her and she’s asleep. I can’t help but think this might not be so hard to get used to.


End file.
